Prologue of the Toad Sage
by Random Ninja Attack
Summary: On his dying breath, Minato Namikaze came to a decision that will greatly change the outcome of the world. Now raised by the Toads, Naruto is thrown on the journey of a lifetime through a very different world from that of the ninja. Surely this world will teach the boy things he can't learn anywhere else.
1. Fox Among the Toads

**So this is my first story... I'm not really sure how they handle the whole where summons come from thing and when I started thinking about it I came up with the idea that maybe they were two separate worlds with a few 'portals' linking them. So yeah, when thinking about this idea I came up with this story which I hope you will like.**

**Prologue of the Toad Sage**

**Ch.1 Fox Among the Toads**

His vision was blurry, head pulsing painfully, and the lifeless body of his beloved was pushed against him due to their desperate attempt to save the life of their son. To think he'd been so exited over being a father... It felt like it'd been years since he had been so happy yet scared of having a baby with the love of his life. The idea of a Kage being so afraid of becoming a father was a bit odd but that's how he had felt, not because he didn't like the idea of having a child, but because he was afraid of messing up somewhere along the way.

He'd been so wrong...

As soon as he saw his son he knew that there was no reason to be so scared. He knew that he wouldn't mess anything up not because he suddenly felt capable, but because he felt so much love for his son that he couldn't help but cry when first seeing him. There was no reason to be scared since he _wouldn't _fail, he loved his son too much to give anything but his best for him.

That's why giving up his life for his was such an easy task. He was sure any father would happily die for his son under any circumstance.

Minato was also a ninja though...

His son would be a ninja, it was obvious. They were a ninja family.

That's why despite feeling himself growing weaker his mind was still on his son, the one that would surely end up fighting the powerful ninja that had attacked the village. A village that would not be able to prepare him, he hated to admit. He himself, the head of the village, the Hokage, was not capable of defeating the ninja with all that he'd learned.

That's why his son had to go through a different training. Yes, he had the Kyuubi, but that would not be enough. The man could control the Kyuubi after all. Naruto needed something that he himself lacked, which was the full training under the Toads.

Master Jiraiya had told him some time ago that the Toads were capable of various powerful techniques, many of which could be taught to them.

"Summoning..." Minato muttered weakly as he drew in whatever he had left to finish the hand signs necessary. "Jutsu..." His shaking hands manage to finish the jutsu and make a small messenger Toad appear.

"Wha! Minato! What happened to ya'!"

He managed a smile as his lifeless eyes fell on his son. "Please...take him. Tell the elders to...train him," his eyes began to close as he uttered his last words, "Please..."

The messenger Toad looked at the scene in panic. Not only had Minato died but he could also see Kushina with him in the same state. If that wasn't enough, the baby began to weep.

The toad looked at the baby then to the fallen ninja before taking the baby in its arms and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

_Years later..._

The sound of laughter could be heard through the heavy vegetation of Mount Myoboku. A couple of toads moved rapidly through the trees, chasing after the eight-year-old human ball of energy that had become a resident at their home.

Naruto smiled as he jumped from tree to tree, eyes wide in mischief as he allowed himself to lose speed and gain the attention of one of the toads following after him. The toad seemed to tense up before leaping at him to which the child grinned and skidded to a complete stop, causing the toad to shoot past him and crash into a tree.

"Ha! Take that Gamakichi!"

The toad in question nursed his head in pain, "Why'd you have to stop like that?"

Naruto laughed in response. "Come on! Now that we're done with this, I can start training for today!"

"Sure, sure. Just don't over do it kid," Gamikichi responded with a sigh.

"Hey! I'm older than you by four months! You're the real kid here!"

Before Gamikichi could answer, Naruto was already off in a clear excitement over starting his training.

"Man... That kid should learn to relax every one in a while."

* * *

Naruto smiled as he ran through the woods on Mount Myoboku. He always loved this part of the day when the Toads would spar with him. It was so much fun to fight! He was strong too! Well, not as strong as most of the Toads, but still very strong!

His smile seemed to grow even further once he made it to a large clearing where two toads were conversing.

"I'm here Fukasaku!"

"Learn some respect brat," Gamabunta, the much large of the two toads scolded with his arms crossed.

Naruto chuckled in response as Fukasaku smiled. "Well Naruto-boy, today your training will be a bit different," he explained to the confusion of the boy, "You see, today you will train with Gamabunta."

"You mean I'm gonna have to fight him?" Naruto muttered to himself before breaking into an exited grin, "Cool! This is going to be awesome!"

Gamabunta sighed when seeing the boy drop to a fighting stance, "Calm down boy. We won't be fighting."

"What?" The boy pouted in disappointment, "Why now?"

"Did you really think I was going to fight you? Of course not! You're way too little for me to fight!"

Fukasaku chuckled at the exchange. "You see Naruto-boy, your training will consist of staying atop Gamabunta's head for two hours. This training will tell me if you're ready for a new level of training."

"That's easy then," Naruto declared with a smile as he jumped up to Gamabunta's head without much trouble. "I'll get this down for sure!"

"We'll see about that kid," Gamabunta challenged as he jumped high in the air, making the boy cry out in shock and stick himself to the toad's head using chakra.

Once they landed, Naruto was quick to get up and stomp on the toad's head, "Hey! I wasn't ready!"

"You're not supposed to be ready! It's a test!"

Naruto grumbled something under his breath as he stuck himself to the giant head and prepared for the odd test he was receiving.

* * *

Fukasaku found himself impressed with the boy with every passing day. His training had only started three years ago but he was already very good at using chakra, he could even walk on water. Now had to be the third time he'd been left bewildered by the boy's progress as he was still on top of Gamabunta's head after an hour and some twenty minutes.

Even after proposing the test, Fukasaku did not think the boy would make it past thirty minutes. He had to admit that he'd underestimated the boy in a way to hope that he wasn't ready for the next part of his training. It wasn't that he didn't want him to progress but everyone, even the stubborn Gamabunta, had grown fond of the boy.

"That is enough Gamabunta!"

The giant toad turned to Fukasaku before nodding his head, making the boy on his head fall off.

"What? That's all it took?" Gamabunta let out in annoyance.

Naruto laughed in response as he flipped in the air to land safely on his feet. "I jumped off," he grinned as he placed both hands behind his head, "No need to get so angry Gama."

Gamabunta grumbled at the lack of respect before leaving.

"Now Naruto-boy," Fukasaku began with a smile, "It is finally time to further your training."

"Great! What am I gonna learn? How to breath fire? How to fly?"

The elder toad laughed in response. "None of that, this is not your average training," he explained, "This part of your training will depend solely on you."

"So...lelee?"

"What I mean is that you will train by yourself," Fukasaku put it in words Naruto would understand, "Many of us here have gone through a ceremony when we reached a certain age. You will go through this trial in order to gain experience."

Naruto nodded, "So what kind of trial? Am I going to fight someone?"

"No. You're going to go on a journey through lands outside of our own," Fukasaku explained, "It will be dangerous but you're strong enough to take care of yourself. This journey will be of great benefit to you since it'll help you grow stronger and gain experience."

"I see!" Naruto smiled eagerly. "That means I'm going to meet all sorts of different people! There's probably a lot of strong ones too!"

Fukasaku chuckled, "Just remember not to overdo it. We're going to give you enough food for a couple of months but you'll be responsible for getting your own food in the future."

"When will I be coming back?"

"Hmm... It depends on the individual taking this trial but I'll say... two years at most."

Naruto nodded, eyes brimming in excitement, "When am I going to be leaving then?"

"You will start your journey tomorrow. So make sure to get a good night sleep tonight," the toad instructed.

"Roger!" Naruto responded with a salute.


	2. A Whole New World

**Prologue of the Toad Sage**

**Ch.2 A Whole New World**

The ceremony wasn't anything big, just a few farewells, wishes for his safety, and it was over. An hour later Naruto was finally off and he couldn't be more exited. Like many of the young toads he had grown up with, he'd only heard things from the older toads. They often spoke ill of places they visited, rarely praising even the places they liked. Young Naruto didn't understand this too well but he wondered if other summon animals felt the same way and spoke badly about Mount Myoboku.

Two hours into his journey and he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. The large scroll tied to his back felt a bit heavier, his simple black training gi was _still _a bit itchy, and his hands were getting tired... Then again it was expected as he was currently walking on his hands, having thought that it would be a great way to warm up for what was to come.

After a couple more moments his blue eyes brimmed in awe once he made it to the edge of a large hill, finally out of the deep woods. Before him was an amazing sight, clear skies, large vibrant lakes, giant trees in the horizon as well as snowy mountains barely visible from where he was.

"Wow!" Naruto let out happily as he pushed himself off the ground to stand on his feet once again. "This is so cool!" He chuckled in barely contained excitement before running down the cliff via the use of chakra. The wind felt amazing against his face, its smell wasn't as damp as it was in Mount Myoboku, it was fresh and clean.

Once making it to the bottom of the cliff the boy was slightly winded, having gotten over excited again. He didn't know how far he was from the place he called home but wasn't too worried about leaving it behind since he had a map, not that he could read it yet since he had no idea in which direction he had gone, but that would surely change after he visited new places.

So, with the sun high in the sky, Naruto continued to make his way through this brand new world that was surely full of strong fighters.

* * *

The sun was setting, darkening the forest in which Naruto was currently walking. Any other kid his age would be afraid to be out alone but Naruto wasn't exactly normal. Growing up, he was often found wondering around the forest for hours simply because he wanted to see what was out there; this along with his unhealthy habit of wanting to face strong opponents all the time and to become stronger, he was a handful to the Toads.

"Let's see..." Naruto trailed off, arms crossed as he sat against a tree. "I ran and ran... Then went down a cliff...swam in a lake and then I walked in a forest again..." the boy scratched his head in obvious disappointment, he had been sure that he would meet someone by now...

Not so fast!

Naruto's ears picked up the sound of crunching leaves. He sat up almost instantly with a smile on his face, thinking that he finally found something, only to be forced to sidestep as a blade cut through the tree he had been leaning on. He rolled into a kneeling position just in time to see the tree fall and the aggressor standing behind the cleanly cut stump. It was a tall figure with a skinny body and two large blades on each side. The boy focused on the figure before breaking into a grin.

"You're a mantis!" He declared, making the mantis chuckle.

"I've never seen a human before...tell me, are your kind tasty?"

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, "I dunno. Every time I lick my hand it tastes like dirt."

The mantis smirked as it raised its bladed arms, "Then I'll eat you and find out!"

"Wah!" Naruto cried out as he jumped away to dodge an incoming slash. He landed near a tree and frowned, "You're not a good guy!"

The mantis cackled in response as it charged in at the boy who jumped up a tree much to the amusement of the mantis who cut through the tree as if it were paper. "Give up human," the mantis bared its teeth in a smirk, watching as the tree fell before stopping mid-fall. "Eh?"

Naruto gritted his teeth, muscles tensing as he held the fallen tree on his outstretched hands. The mantis gaped at the human in terror before screaming as he lifted the tree over his head. Naruto let out a cry as he flung the tree at the mantis who weeped in terror as it ducked under the incoming tree that ended up crashing loudly against the ground.

"Hmm..." Naruto pouted when seeing that his attack had missed before dropping into a fighting stance and grinning, "You dodged it! Wow! I bet you're super strong!"

The mantis gaped at the kid before bowing as far as it possibly could, "Please forgive me, Master!"

"Huh?"

"I am indebted to you since you have decided to spare my life," the fifteen foot tall mantis cowered under the four foot human.

Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, "But I don't have a spear... I thought we were about to fight?"

"Of course not Master!" The mantis chuckled nervously, "Please forgive my rudeness and let me assist you in anything you may need."

"Well...Do you know if there's any village around here?"

The mantis seemed to think for a moment before speaking, "Well, you may call it a village but we call it the Forest Colony. It is the home of many of my insect comrades."

Naruto's eyes lit up, "Are they strong?"

"Some are very strong, yes. Do you wish to go there Master?"

The boy nodded in response. "And stop calling me Master, my name's Naruto," he introduced himself with a smile.

"As you wish Master Naruto," the mantis replied as it bowed its head, "I am Daisuke."

"Can you take me to the village then?"

"At once," Daisuke replied as it led the boy through the darkening forest.

The two walked for a few minutes before arriving at a tunnel's entrance on the side of a tall hill. Naruto ran to it and peeked inside in wonder, unaware of the mantis raising one of its bladed arms.

_'Heh! There's no way I'm going to be bossed around by a little kid!'_

"Is this it?" Naruto turned his head to see the mantis with one arm raised. He looked at Daisuke oddly as it stood there with a look of panic.

"I thought I saw something and was pointing to it!" Daisuke cried out in an attempt to hide its real intentions. The human scratched his head in confusion before the mantis decided to speak, "Umm...yes this is the entrance to our colony."

Naruto nodded happily before running inside. At first there was nothing but darkness but that changed once he made it to the top of a large hill overlooking an underground village, torches were all over the place in order to provide lighting, and he could see several holes on the colony's dirt ceiling. He also noticed that the buildings were mostly green with some being a dark brown.

"This is our underground colony," Daisuke explained, "Most of our homes are made out of leaves or dirt. The holes in the ceiling are for ventilation purposes."

"It's awesome," Naruto pointed out happily before looking at the mantis expectantly, "Hey, where are the strong cobras you were talking about?"

"Cobras?"

The boy grinned in excitement as he placed both hands behind his head, "Yeah, you said you had strong insect cobras in here."

The mantis sighed. "_Comrades _Master, _comrades_."

"Yeah those!" Naruto laughed, "Where are they?"

_'Think for a minute Daisuke! You could take this human to the others, they should be able to defeat him!' _The mantis smiled at the boy, "Yes Master, I'll take you there at once!"

With that the two walked down the hill, one plotting away while the other looked around in awe.


	3. The Forest Colony

**Prologue of the Toad Sage**

**Ch.3 The Forest Colony**

Naruto walked side by side with Daisuke the mantis, a bright smile on his face as they passed by many other types of insects. There were snails, worms, and beetles to name a few. All of them towered over the young human who was unaware of all the worried stares thrown at him.

The mantis kept throwing the human glances as they moved through the colony. He noticed the many stares thrown their way but it didn't surprise him, they were probably worried about a human walking with one of them. This was a sign of a predator, an occurrence that took place every few months when a stronger enemy would enter their colony to eat. What they didn't know was that Daisuke was taking the human to his doom.

Daisuke chuckled before noticing that he was now walking alone. Panic filled his eyes but it died down when seeing that the human had merely stopped walking and had a hand to his stomach.

"I'm hungry," Naruto declared with a pout, unknowingly making all the insects around him flinch in fear.

Daisuke panicked and waved his arms around, "Please Master Naruto! Don't -" The words died in his mouth when seeing the human sit on the ground and take off the scroll tied to his back. "Eh?"

"I'm going to eat something," Naruto spoke as he opened up the scroll and placed his hand on one of the many seals written on it. The mantis watched in awe as the boy emerged a plate with cooked meat. "Do you want some?"

The mantis shook his head, "I'd rather not."

* * *

Naruto had lost track of time long ago. The sun was setting around the time when he first entered the colony which would mean that it was currently nighttime but all the torches on the walls of the underground dome lit the place really well. He would usually sleep early but for some reason didn't feel tired at all.

"Alright Master," Daisuke spoke up suddenly, gaining the boy's attention. Naruto noticed that they were standing before another tunnel, much like the one that had led them into the colony, but this one was considerably darker. "The ones that live here are very strong. They should pose a challenge for you."

The boy looked unsure for a second, "Why are they all the way out here though?"

The mantis chuckled nervously. Of course even a young human would notice that they had not only passed the main living areas of the colony, but that they were going deeper and deeper into the ground after going down many hills.

"Oh who cares!" Naruto smiled as he stretched his arms over his head and sighed happily, "I ate a lot! Now I'm full of energy!"

"Yes, right," the mantis nodded before looking around nervously, "Um... I cannot go in with you since I have to uh..."

The boy chuckled understandingly. "I get it. You have to use the bathroom. It's okay, I'll go on ahead and you can catch up later!" With that said, Naruto ran into the tunnel with a bright grin on his face.

"Yes I'll catch up..." Daisuke chuckled in amusement. "The human doesn't know that this tunnel leads to the Underground Colony that houses all of those deranged insects. I almost feel sorry for the human," the mantis left with a laugh, glad to be done with the tiny human.

* * *

"Hmm... I've been walking a lot already," Naruto sighed before placing both hands behind his head. Only a few torches lit the way into the long tunnel that appeared to be going deep underground. "Maybe those strong guys have to be all the way down here because they're so strong," he reasoned.

Around half an hour passed before Naruto finally saw something different, light!

"I must be close!" He beamed and broke into a run, eyes scanning the area in wonder, coming to a stop once he made it to the end of the tunnel. "Is this it?" He wondered out loud as he looked around.

Unlike the Forest Colony, this one didn't have much lighting. There were only a few torches on what appeared to be another dome-like underground colony though this one didn't appear to be as large. Another thing he noticed after his eyes got used to the lack of light, was that there were many large holes on the ground.

"Hello!" Naruto called out in hopes of finding something, "I came here to fight someone strong!"

His voice echoed on the dark cave but no one answered. Annoyed, Naruto prepared to yell again but was interrupted as the ground began to shake. A startled yell escaped his lips as he struggled to keep standing due to the heavy quakes.

Not much later, a giant centipede emerged from the ground with a large cloud of dust. Naruto covered his eyes from the dust as the centipede looked around, its body dwarfing his.

"Who's there? Speak up now!"

"Naruto!" The boy answered once the dust settled. "I came here to fight someone strong!"

The centipede laughed loudly, making the boy cover his ears, "It's not often that we see a human, a tiny one at that. Very well then, I will fight you under one condition."

Naruto smiled widely, "What's that?!"

"I get to eat you once I defeat you!" The centipede roared as it dived towards the boy. The smile never left Naruto's face as he waited until the last second to jump over the centipede that ended up burrowing its way into the ground.

Naruto could hardly contain the smile on his face. Blood pumped rapidly through his veins, his heart beat loudly against his chest, and his hands were shaking slightly; yes! This was what he loved about fighting someone strong!

As Naruto sailed through the air, the centipede once again emerged from the ground and headed straight for him with its mouth wide open. The boy grinned as he stretched back his hands and unleashed his chakra, causing him to change directions and head straight towards the centipede that, not having expected the sudden change in direction, lost its target though it didn't have to look long as the boy landed between its eyes.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled out as he delivered a punch to the centipede's head.

The centipede had no time to scream as the punch slammed it against the ground, causing debris to fly up as the boy dived towards the giant insect that quickly moved in order to dodge the incoming attack.

"W-What are you?" The centipede couldn't help but wonder as the boy landed safely on the ground.

"Wow! Even though you're so big you move really fast!" Naruto praised as he dropped into a fighting stance, "Don't worry though, I still haven't gone all out either!"

The centipede stared blankly at the boy before bowing its head, "Please! Let's stop this!"

"Huh?"

"I didn't want to eat you! I was just kidding!"

Naruto sighed loudly, "Oh come on! You're the second to tell me that today! I just wanna fight someone strong!"

"No!"

"Why?!"

"Because!"

"Just fight me!"

"I won't!"

Naruto crossed his arms and sat on the ground with a pout, "At least tell me where I can fight someone."

"I'm actually the strongest here. You won't be finding anyone who would want to fight you in this colony."

"Why?" Naruto whined, "I came all the way here from Mount Myoboku to fight someone strong!"

"Mount Myoboku? Home of the toads?" The centipede repeated, receiving a nod from the boy. "Well, they are among the most powerful in this world. I can see why someone living with them would be having trouble finding someone to challenge... I suggest you keep on moving, there's a place where you could probably find a strong opponent."

"Where's that?"

"I'm not sure what direction it is but you should be able to see it from the very top of these underground colonies," the centipede explained, "It is a giant tree that overlooks this whole forest. The Tree of Life, home of the chameleons."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "Okay. But do you know where I can sleep?"

"Um... You could probably find some place on the upper colony."

"Okay," the boy nodded and rose to a standing position. He gave a quick wave to the giant insect before running off, "Thank you!"

The centipede sighed once the human was gone. He had no idea that humans were so scary...his head still hurt.

* * *

Naruto's eyes were dropping by the time he made it back to the Forest Colony. Despite being quite strong he was still just a kid and needed his sleep. The problem was that he did not have any place to sleep, he thought about finding Daisuke but it'd be too hard to find him.

"That's right," he smiled to himself as he untied the scroll on his back and placed it on the ground. He pressed his hand to the appropriate seal and pushed chakra into it, producing a futon and small tent. "Haha. I'm gonna sleep good today," he chuckled as he got to work on setting up the tent.

While putting a tent in the middle of a colony of unknown summon insects didn't appear to be a good idea, Naruto didn't think much about it and with good reason. While he remained oblivious of the fact, the insects were terrified of him by this point. A few that could see him from far, were wise to stay away from a human that had just walked out of the deeper colony.

"Done," Naruto grinned wearily at his tent before pushing his futon in and preparing to sleep. Tomorrow he would need to find that giant tree and would get to meet strong summon animals.

A yawn escaped his lips as he made himself comfortable in his tent, he could hardly wait to get there.


	4. Onwards to the Tree of Life!

**So yeah, next chapter. In this one you'll get to see a bit of what Naruto has learned while living with the Toads. Anyway sometimes I overlook stuff so if you have a question or anything feel free to let me know so that I can answer it or realize that I screwed up.**

**Prologue of the Toad Sage**

**Ch.4 Onwards to the Tree of Life!**

Fukasaku stood on a cliff overlooking the vast forest around Mount Myoboku. On his feet was a scroll with a message coming from Jiraiya of the Sannin, As the kid's godfather, Jiraiya kept tabs on Naruto since he was young, often visiting a few times a year. It was also agreed that the boy would be taken back to live in Konoha once he reached the age of eleven.

The toad elder wondered how Naruto was doing, it'd only been a day but he couldn't help but worry about the kid he had helped raise. A smile spread across his face, realizing that he really didn't need to worry since the kid was easily stronger than most out there, not to mention his endless supply of energy.

"Now, what should I tell Jiraiya when he gets here?"

* * *

In the end, Naruto didn't see much of the insects living in the Forest Colony as he left the place as soon as he woke up, far too excited about making it to his next location.

He was currently outside the colony, a smile on his face as he easily found the tallest tree and ran up its length. Once making it to the top he took in his surroundings; taking into mind what the centipede had said, the Tree of Life should be visible from where he was.

He took a brief moment to appreciate his surroundings. The countless trees made the place look like a sea of leaves, Naruto couldn't help but smile at the great view before focusing on what he was doing.

"Okay, a big tree... There are a lot of big ones though..." he frowned when spotting a few trees that towered over the rest. "Maybe it's one of those?" He absentmindedly threw a look over his shoulder just in case he was missing something and instantly let out an awed cry, "Wow! It's super huge!"

His wide eyes looked at a massive tree that almost reached the clouds with its massive branches, and seemed to take up most of the forest with its mile-wide width.

"That has to be it!" Naruto laughed to himself, hardly believing that a tree that massive could exist. "Alright, time to go," he declared as he tugged on his white training belt that was badly tied together as he didn't have anyone to do it for him. Next he slung his scroll over his shoulder since he didn't know how to tie it to his back either.

With that done Naruto set off once again, this time deciding to jump from branch to branch without the aid of chakra as a way of training.

* * *

"Wow! I'm still not even close," Naruto chuckled to himself as he wiped his sweaty forehead. He sat himself on the branch he was currently standing on and gazed at the faraway Tree of Life with a weary smile. After moving for a few hours, the massive tree didn't appear to be closer at all. If it wasn't for the changes in scenery, like passing a river or two, Naruto could have sworn that he hadn't been moving at all.

He let out a weary sigh as he placed his scroll on his lap, thinking that he should probably eat something, but the thought left his mind when hearing hurried footsteps. His brow furrowed as he threw his body back so that he was hanging off the branch like a bat to see a shadowy figure dash under the tree he was in. Naruto quickly moved back to a sitting position to see that the figure was already disappearing into the deeper woods.

Ever the curios one, Naruto quickly slung the scroll over his shoulder and leapt off the tree he was in. The wind felt good against his skin but he ignored it as he jumped from branch to branch rapidly, quickly catching up to the shadowy figure. He kept an even pace with it in an effort to see what it was but quickly grew impatient and decided to see what it was up close.

With that in mind Naruto jumped off a branch and onto the area in front of the figure that skidded to a stop when seeing something on its path.

"Hey! Don't jump out like that! I almost died of fright!"

The boy smiled sheepishly as he pointed at the animal, "You're a rabbit."

"Humph! Now that you know that please get out of my way."

"Why are you running around for?"

"That's none of your business," the rabbit scolded as it hopped around the really odd summon animal, "What are you anyway? A fur-less ape?"

Naruto chuckled at the rabbit that was around his same size, "No, I'm Naruto."

"I meant your species," the rabbit sighed.

"Oh! I'm a human!"

"A human?" The rabbit repeated as its eyes widened, "I've never seen one before. I thought they were only around the more powerful of us... Tell me human, where do you come from?"

Naruto cocked his head in confusion, not really knowing where the rabbit was getting at, but decided to answer anyway, "I came from Mount Myoboku."

"What?!" The rabbit exclaimed in shock, "That must mean you're very strong then!"

"Of course!" The boy declared with his hands on his hips, causing the scroll to fall at his side.

"In that case, I believe I can tell you why I was running out here all by myself," the rabbit decided as its ears lowered, "You see. We rabbits live in a small colony here in the woods. Everything was nice and peaceful until one day a snake showed up. It took everyone in our colony to the place it lives... I bet it already ate a lot of them."

Naruto frowned, "That's horrible."

"Yes, that's right!" The rabbit whimpered before raising its paws, "But I bet a strong human will be able to save them!"

The boy nodded with a smile, "Yeah! I'll save them!"

The rabbit cheered before moving up ahead, "Then follow me! We don't have much time!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Naruto was led to a deeper area of the woods with many tall trees blocking most of the sunlight.

"The place is up ahead," the rabbit spoke up while trembling slightly, "I uh... I don't have to go, right?"

"It's okay, I'll take care of it," Naruto assured.

The rabbit visually relaxed, "Good. Listen, the snake lives in a large decaying tree trunk on the ground. It's pretty big so you'll be able to see it easily."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, I'll leave this with you though," he placed his scroll on the ground next to the rabbit before moving.

He stretched his arms above his head as he went deeper in the forest. The place wasn't very lit, only a few beams of sunlight managed to make it through the thick trees, so he didn't have an idea as to what time it was. Hopefully not too late since he still had some things to do before the day ended.

"Let's see. Snake...snake...snake..." Naruto looked around the area before finally catching sight of a very large tree trunk just past a set of thick trees. He smiled and ran up ahead so that he could see the whole thing. "This must be where it lives," he decided as he gazed at the large decaying tree laying on its side.

The boy couldn't help but be excited as he drew in a breath before peeking inside the hollow tree. He was met by a trembling group of rabbits huddled together in a corner, some of them were even smaller than him.

"W-what are you?" One of them spoke up in fear.

"My name's Naruto, I'm here to save you," he introduced himself with a grin, but it seemed to make the rabbits even more scared. "Huh? Why are you afraid of me?"

"They're not." A deep voiced rumbled behind the boy, who quickly turned on his heels to face whoever sneaked up on him.

Naruto's eyes narrowed when seeing the snake's giant face staring down at him from outside the tree. "You're the one that's been eating the rabbits!" He accused with a heated glare.

"How can you fault me when they are simply too tasty," the snake chuckled darkly, "What's a human – a child at that – going to do against me?"

"This!" Naruto exclaimed as he pointed both hands at the snake who looked at the boy in amusement.

"Ha! What do you hope to do with-"

The snake was cut off as a powerful invisible force slammed against its face before viciously pushing it out of the tree. Despite the powerful force, the snake managed to remain on the ground after using its length to absorb most of the blow. It lowered its head to see the boy emerging from the tree with an angry expression on his face.

"What the hell kind of attack was that?" The snake angrily demanded an answer, its pride hurt after being hurt by a brat.

Naruto got into his fighting stance and smirked, "Apparently I have a lot of chakra, so I learned how to release it in shockwaves."

"Interesting, but only that, interesting!" The snake exclaimed as it opened its mouth and dove towards the boy who quickly leapt away from the attack, but the snake easily changed directions and shot straight at him.

Naruto was more than ready for the such things and quickly unleashed a shockwave of chakra from his feet just as he jumped, causing him to shoot over the incoming snake that was caught by surprise by his speed and ended up crashing against the ground. At the same time Naruto flipped in the air just as blue chakra flared around him and encased his whole boy.

"Take this!" He exclaimed as he let out another shockwave of chakra from his feet, causing him to dive full-speed towards the fallen snake that did not have time to react as he boy crashed down on its body with such force that it resulted in a massive cloud of debris.

Naruto panted as he jumped away from where he landed, now a small crater with half of a snake body on either side. "I think I overdid it," he thought out loud before dusting off his clothes and jogging up to the tree in which the rabbits were still huddled together, "We can go now."

"What?"

"I beat the snake!" Naruto declared with a grin, "You can go back home now."

The rabbits were obviously wary and it wasn't until some of the braver ones peaked out of the tree for affirmation, that all of them finally left the decaying tree. All of them were gaping at the snake, now cut in half.

"You did this?" One of the rabbits asked in awe.

Naruto nodded, "I have to get going though, I'll see you guys later!"

"Eh?" The rabbits watched as the boy ran off, wondering if all humans were this strong.

* * *

Naruto smiled as he jumped from tree to tree, once again on the move after retrieving his scroll. The first rabbit he met had been on the verge of crying before he left, saying that he wanted to get to his next destination soon instead of staying over to celebrate.

The snake had been pretty strong but he didn't really get to enjoy the fight since he wasn't fighting for fun like usual, this time he was protecting those poor rabbits. Thankfully now that they were safe, he could finally look forward to meeting those strong chameleons that the centipede had told him about.

The Tree of Life was getting closer, he could finally see that now, and there was still some time before it got dark. Naruto could hardly wait and sped his pace, wanting to make it there as soon as possible.


	5. Trial of the Forest

**Prologue of the Toad Sage**

**Ch.5 Trial of the Forest**

The Tree of Life appeared to have gotten bigger as Naruto continued to run through the very deep forest. By now the sun was close to setting much to his disappointment. He had hoped to get there before nighttime but it looked like it wouldn't be the case.

"Oh well, I should find a place to rest anyway," he muttered to himself with a pout as he descended from the tree he was on. He was on a small clearing, the ground not too uneven and a small river on the side made it the perfect place to camp. A smile spread across his face as he placed his scroll on the ground, "Man, I got really lucky finding this place."

"Ohoho! Quite a find young human."

Naruto rose an eyebrow as he turned to the source of the noise, finding a rather large owl perched on a tree branch.

"I assume you didn't think that you would be getting a visitor?"

"Not really. You're really good at not being noticed," the boy complimented with a smile.

The owl chuckled. "It's expected of me. I'm the watchful guardian of this part of the forest after all," it leaned its head forward, as if to get a better look at the human, "News travel fast around this forest. I've heard some big feats from you though to be honest with you, I expected you to be a lot older."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "Why's that?"

"Not just anyone can defeat a snake," the owl explained, "From what I saw during your battle, you're quite powerful for someone so young."

"You've been watching me?"

"I have," it admitted, "You see, you caused a strong impression in the Forest Colony...not a good one I'm afraid. Most of the insects feared you since they hadn't seen a human before, much less one that could easily defeat the strongest among them."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "So what are you doing here? Wait! Do you wanna fight? If you do then let's do it!"

"I don't wish to fight you," the owl chuckled, amused at the energetic boy, "I merely came here to thank you for defeating that snake. To tell you the truth, no one else in the forest could have done it as easily as you did. Which is why as thanks, I will offer you advice."

"Advice on what?"

"The deeper woods. You see in an area up ahead you will find yourself trapped in a Genjutsu that will twist all of your senses. Up will be down. Right will be left. Dark will be light. And sound will be silence."

The boy scratched his cheek with a puzzled expression on his face, "How will I make it to the Tree of Life then?"

"You will have to trust the only sense that remains, your instinct," the owl advised, "Keep your head and heart clear to find your way through the twisted forest."

"I think I got it," Naruto responded as the owl began to flap its wings and took air, "Thanks for the advice!"

The owl chuckled, "Do not mention it young one. It is my award for saving the forest."

With that the owl flew off, leaving Naruto wondering what awaited him the next day.

* * *

Naruto had never been very good at things that required a lot of thinking since he tended to become distracted very easily. There _were _times in which he sat down to study for several hours but that was only in times when the information greatly interested him, meaning that he only read over all sorts of jutsu, fighting techniques, and great ways to train. The Toads were sure that he wouldn't have learned to read and write were it not for their constant pushing of the subject. At the time Naruto was sure that reading over boring stuff like Genjutsu would not benefit him at all.

Said boy was currently standing against a tree with his brow furrowed. He had arrived at the part of the woods that the owl had been talking about and had come to the conclusion that the owl had made light of the woods. It wasn't just the sense the owl spoke of that had been affected, but many more as he had found out upon moving around the woods for a good two hours.

The sky couldn't be seen from where he was, making the place a lot darker than it should be. A thick fog lingered through the whole woods apparently. Not only that but a force pushed down on his body as he walked deeper and deeper into the forest before suddenly stopping; it took him several tries to figure out that the force against his body would be stronger if he went in the right direction. He figured this out when seeing that the scenery of thick trees would change as the force grew stronger until he ended up walking into the area in which he had first entered.

"Just think for a moment..." Naruto held his head, feeling a headache forming due to the way he rattled his brain for an answer. This was the first time he wished to have studied more about Genjutsu and other boring subjects, maybe he would have an answer if he had. "Okay, think about what the owl said..." he placed both hands behind his head, "Use my instinct."

His shoulders dropped, coming up clean before moving through the woods once again. At first they appeared to be normal but he would always end up walking into the same clearing where he had begun. A bit of panic began to set in when the thought of being stuck here forever struck him but he quickly ignored it though the feeling was still there.

"I don't wanna stay here," he whimpered with a bit of fear on his features before he took off running, passing by a clearing with a small moss covered rock on the center. The boy took a right turn and soon made it to another clearing, this once with a large brown rock; this was the place in which the force began to push down on his body. It had been hindering at first but his body had quickly adapted to the changes.

The force pushing down on him grew stronger once he made it to the fourth clearing, this one sporting two large rocks. Naruto was familiar with this and took a left turn, running through many trees before arriving at the fifth clearing where the force became much stronger. This clearing was the one where the boy would end up where he started every time. The clearing had a dead tree in the middle, quite the difference from the thigns the other clearings had.

Naruto came to a stop and crossed his arms in thought. He had gone in every direction from this clearing, even backtracked out of desperation to find that the fourth clearing was no longer there, replaced with the first.

"Come on think Naruto!" He closed his eyes in deep thought, forcefully bringing up all sorts of training he had gone through with the Toads.

* * *

_A six-year-old Naruto rubbed his forehead angrily, the red blindfold moist with sweat._

"_I told ya already Naruto-boy," Fukasaku scolded, "You cannot always trust your eyes. There are many out there who can use them against you."_

"_They can't! These are mine! Nobody can do anything to them!" Naruto snapped._

"_Enough complaining young one, we're starting again!"_

_The boy grumbled something under his breath as he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the incoming attacks. His brow furrowed in concentration before he quickly sidestepped, effectively dodging an incoming punch from a medium-sized toad, but he wasn't done there as he next ducked under a kick before raising an arm to block an incoming punch._

_Naruto felt god about having blocked the attacks but the feeling died down as a strong kick struck his chest._

"_Wha!" The boy cried as he fell on his backside._

_Fukasaku sighed, "You were doing very well Naruto but you forgot the most important rule of this training. Do not let your head get in your way. It can be useful but it can also be distracting. As with your eyes, it can easily be fooled. When it happens you can only rely on..._

* * *

"I can only rely on instinct..." Naruto finished as he came to a realization. He hadn't been using his instinct at all, he had been using his head. "Okay Naruto you can do this," he cheered himself on as he looked around what could be seen of the clearing as the fog and darkness made it pretty hard to make out other sort of landmarks. Trying to run up a tree was out of the question as he would always end up smacking onto an invisible wall.

Clearing number one had nothing special. Clearing number two had a cock covered in rock. Clearing number tree had a large brown rock and it was where the force began to push down on him. Clearing number four had two large rocks and the force was even stronger. Finally, clearing number five had a dead tree in the middle.

His mind told him that there was no connection between them but a sudden thought struck him suddenly. Could this be...?

A smile spread across Naruto's face. This _was _his instinct. It didn't make sense but it did at the same time! This _had _to be it!

Naruto let out a breath as he walked up to the tree, eyed it carefully, before touching it. Like before nothing happened but this time he pushed chakra into it, something he hadn't done before since what was left of the tree was not tall enough to climb.

The effect was instant. Sunlight lit the area, the force pushing down on him disappeared, as did the fog. Most noticeable was the fact that he could hear birds chirping in the distance, and the massive tree standing before him.

"I made it..." he whispered to himself in disbelief before smiling brightly, "I made it! I'm finally here!"

The Tree of Life stood in its full glory before the boy who couldn't be more relieved to finally be out of the woods, literally. Not only that but the day was far from over, meaning that he could go up the tree and find someone strong to fight before it got dark out.

Naruto trembled slightly before jumping for joy, "I did it!"

The owl watched the boy from atop a distant tree, very deeply impressed with the fact that he had gotten past the woods in just hours. Yes, it was clear that the boy would get very far in whatever path he chose.

"Okay, time to get going!" Naruto laughed as he began to run up the tree, eyes filled with excitement.


	6. The Tree of Life

**Prologue of the Toad Sage**

**Ch.6 The Tree of Life**

As soon as he took three steps up the tree Naruto was on the ground with a puzzled look on his face. His brow furrowed as he rose to his feet and approached the tree once again, making to run for it but once again falling on his back upon taking a few steps.

"What's going on?!" Naruto shouted angrily as he quickly got on his feet and stepped on the tree, finding that it was a lot more difficult than he thought. "What's wrong with this tree? I can even walk on water now, a tree shouldn't be problem at all," he mumbled to himself as he placed both feet on the tree and almost fell again had he not adjusted the chakra on his feet.

With a look of focus Naruto managed to take two steps up the tree, using a lot more chakra than he would a normal tree and a lot more control than walking in water. His jaw clenched as he took a few more steps, trying his hardest not to fall from the giant tree. There was probably no other way to climb it too since the branches didn't start until very high up, he could probably stop tree walking once he made it there, at least that's what he told himself to keep from crying out in frustration.

"Okay, I'll get used to this in no time," he told himself as he took another step, then another, and then another.

* * *

Three hours had passed and Naruto was still walking up the tree. Having fallen around ten times, he was currently not even a fourth of the way up the giant tree. Sweat trailed down his face and his back hurt from having fallen on the unforgiving ground quite a few times but he had thankfully learned from his many falls. It had been around an hour since the last time he fell and he was moving at a comfortable jogging pace, not really trusting himself enough to run.

Thankfully the sun was now covered by the distant giant leaves of the tree and a cool breeze hit his sweaty face. He felt refreshed and no longer grouchy as he had been a few moments ago.

It wasn't until a few moments later that he finally caught sight of something other than the distant leaves. To his confusion is appeared to look like a village except, every single 'home' was standing against the tree, making it look very odd. He quickly put it off though as he was just glad to have finally made it to something now that he was standing well above the trees in the deep woods.

A weary smile spread across his face and it took all of his restraint to keep himself from bolting towards the colony up ahead since doing so would surely end up with him on the ground once again. So, with his same speed he kept moving up the tree until he was finally close enough to make out most of the colony which had buildings made out of wood and some weird gray material.

"I finally made it," he chuckled as he finally made it to the nearest building and kicked off the tree without thinking twice before landing safely on the large wooden building. "Ahhhh! This is great!" He let out contently as he plopped down on the building's wall with his arms and legs stretched out. His eyes closed by themselves as he let his tired body rest up for a little while and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

* * *

Naruto squirmed when feeling something poking his ribs, a grumble escaped his lips as he was pulled out of his peaceful slumber in order to see what was going on. The boy let out a yawn, scratching an eye as he noticed a large lizard looking down on him.

"I see you have finally awakened," the lizard spoke bluntly.

Naruto stretched his arms over his head and yawned loudly, "Yup! I had a good sleep! Hmm..." He looked around the area, finding it still light out, "What time is it?"

The lizard looked at the boy oddly before deciding to speak, "If you must know, it was sunrise not too long ago."

"Sunrise?" Naruto rose an eyebrow, "No. I just fell asleep for a little bit, I got here a few hours ago."

"We found you at sunset yesterday but no one approached you. I was the only one and that is only because you are on my home," the lizard explained.

Naruto looked down before chuckling sheepishly, "Sorry about that, I think I ended up falling asleep after climbing up here."

"You _climbed_?"

"Yup," the boy answered as he rose to his feet and winced slightly, his legs a bit sore from all the strain, "It was pretty hard to walk all the way up here but I did it! Now I can meet the strong chameleons that live here!"

The lizard looked at the boy in apparent shock. No normal ninja could make it all the way to where they were simply because they should not have the chakra to use their Tree-Walking for such a long time. Not only that but the Tree of Life had properties that made it very difficult to walk on by using chakra. If a mere boy could accomplish the feat, then he had to be something special. The boy smiled eagerly and got on a ready stance much to the lizard's confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"You're one of those strong chameleons so I'm gonna fight ya!" Naruto grinned, eyes twinkling in excitement.

"No," the lizard responded with a tick mark, "I am not a chameleon and be thankful that you didn't confuse someone else because they probably wouldn't be too happy about that."

"You're not a chameleon?"

The lizard growled softly, "No, I am not. The chameleons do not live here."

"What?!" Naruto asked in worry, "Did I get the wrong tree?"

The lizard sighed. "What I meant was that they do not live in this colony," it explained to the clueless boy, "Their colony is on the branches near the end of this tree."

"Wha..." Naruto looked up in dread. The distant leaves were still that, distant. There was no way he could go all the way up there in one go. Getting up to where he was had taken most of his chakra and he had fainted almost instantly after resting, "There's no way I'll make it up there!"

"Calm down for a second," the large green lizard spoke as it looked closely at the boy, "Your appearance is not very impressive, your feats are. Not many can get past the woods and climb all the way up here, much less a human. That is why I have decided to aid you in your quest."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion, "Really?"

"Yes, but it will not be easy," the lizard admitted, "Trust me when I say that this be very difficult but by the time we are done, you will be able to run up this tree without much trouble."

"Wow! That's so cool!" Naruto smiled widely, eagerness in his eyes. "When will we start?"

The lizard looked behind the boy, meeting the many curious glances from the other lizards, before glancing back at him. "We will start now. I hope you are ready because this training will be hard."

"Let's do it!"

* * *

"_Your first training exercise will consist of sitting against the tree while balancing many various items I will give you. The training ends in four hours."_

Naruto had a look of concentration on his face as he sat on the tree's lenght in the lotus position. On his head was a small wooden box, on his back was as heavy gray ball, and on the sides of his face were two small wooden boxes. The wooden boxes were made of the same material as the tree which, while not fully explaining why, the lizard had told him were far more difficult to control using chakra. The gray ball was made of some type of dirt that was pretty heavy and difficult to control with chakra as well.

Two hours into his training Naruto couldn't be more tired. Sitting on the tree was difficult enough but balancing those things was even harder, the ball was probably the hardest part as it was pretty heavy and stuck to his back, meaning that if he were to lose control, it would be the first to fall. Thankfully it hadn't as the lizard had told him that any items that fell had to be retrieved. That didn't sound too hard but he was sitting in an area outside of the colony, meaning that anything that fell would end up at the base of the tree.

"Very impressive for your first time," came the voice of the approaching lizard that stuck to the tree with ease. "I advise you don't talk as it could break your concentration. All you have to do is listen," the lizard explained, "It will soon be noon which means that _it _will probably come. I want you to be very careful and try not to catch its attention. You should be safe since it only looks for us."

Naruto wanted to say something but remained quiet as he watched the lizard go. He wondered what it was talking about but abruptly stopped thinking about it when the ball on his back almost fell from his back. The boy closed his eyes in concentration and continued his training in silence, knowing that he would find out what the lizard was talking about soon enough.

* * *

It happened three hours after his training began. A loud screech struck his ears before a violent wind struck his body, knocking off the items stuck to his body with chakra.

Naruto looked towards where the sound came from just as a giant black shadow disappeared on the tree's horizon. "What was that?" He asked himself, ignoring the fall of the items for now as he rose to his feet and ran towards where the shadow disappeared, too engrossed in finding out what was going on to notice that he was actually running on the tree.

The boy's eyes were wide in disbelief as soon as he saw a giant hawk flying over the colony of lizards. His eyes narrowed as he charged in at the hawk that began to tear through the homes in order to find food. It finally found what it was looking for, a brown lizard, but as it opened its beak something struck its side, hard.

The hawk was knocked aside before regaining its balance and turning to the aggressor, spotting a human standing on the wall of a building.

"There's now way I'm letting you hurt them!" Naruto declared as he took a fighting stance.

The hawk screeched loudly as it flapped towards the boy, creating a powerful gust of air that almost knocked him off the building had he not used chakra to remain glued to where he was standing at the last second. Naruto gritted his teeth in anger and he kicked off the building and stretched out his hands before releasing a shockwave though it didn't have the desired effect, very weak compared to what he was used to.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked himself in confusion as he wiped away a trail of sweat from his forehead. "Am I too tired to make the shockwave strong?" The question was odd as it had never really happened, his chakra reserves were far too big to run out in a couple of hours.

The hawk didn't stop its attack and quickly swept down on the airbone human with its beak open. Naruto's eyes widened in shock before he quickly ran through hand signs, "Wind Style: Air Bullets!"

Powerful shots of wind shot at the hawk, crashing against its body and knocking it back long enough to give the boy some breathing room. He landed safely on the tree while panting harshly, finding himself a lot more tired than he first thought. The hawk was still there, not backing down even though it had been hurt somewhat. Naruto knew for a fact that he had to think of something in order to take it out since he couldn't rely on his quickly fading chakra.

"Come on Naruto think!" The boy gritted hit teeth before thinking of something. There _was _a way to stop the hawk and he had just enough chakra to do it.

With that in mind the boy ran up the length of the tree before jumping off once high enough and heading straight to where the hawk was. The large predator screeched as it flew towards the boy with its beak wide open, but this was what Naruto was expecting as he twisted in the air once the hawk was close enough, dodging it just barely before gripping the feathers on its tails. The hawk trashed about as the boy clung to its tail before scaling up its back.

"I got you," Naruto grinned weakly before running through hand signs and placing both palms on the hawk's back, "Lightning Style: Electric Jolt!"

The hawk screeched in pain as bolts of electricity coursed through its body, some visible coming from its back, before the screech halted and its body went limp. Naruto jumped off the hawk and stuck to the tree, grinning weakly as he watched the hawk fall.

"What was that you used?"

He turned his head to see the lizard next to him speaking in a shocked voice. "It's a jutsu that paralyzes the enemy," he explained, "I thought it could take care of the hawk since falling from this height will probably stop it."

The lizard nodded absently, "Well, I would like to thank you for that. Even though it was not your problem and not expected of you, you saved us."

"Of course I did, there's no way I would let someone hurt my friends," the boy declared with a smile, making the lizard laugh.

"Very well then friend, I noticed that you are not having trouble with the tree anymore."

Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked down to his feet to see that he was standing on the tree with no problem at all, "Wow! You're right! This means I can go meet the chameleons now, right?"

"After you get some rest," the lizard responded, "You probably don't have much chakra left."

"You're right," the boy whined before grinning, "Oh well! I have to eat anyway so I'll stay here for one more day! You can probably teach me new stuff too!"

Before the lizard could object the boy was already off with a skip in his step, somehow the lizard thought that things could not end well.


End file.
